Jaxon Smith-Njigba has not needed to wait long to secure his Seahawks extension. The reigning Offensive Player of the Year agreed to terms with Seattle on Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. 
Team and player are finalizing a four-year, $168.6MM pact, Schefter reports. With Smith-Njigba’s fifth-year option having recently been picked up, today’s news means he will be on the books through 2031. This agreement contains record-breaking receiver figures for average annual value ($42.15MM) and guarantees ($120MM), per Schefter.
[RELATED: Details On Seahawks WR’s Record-Breaking Deal]
An extension resetting the receiver market had been something to watch for in this case, although nothing appeared to be imminent with respect to negotiations leading up to today’s news. Seattle was seen as a candidate to finalize this deal sometime around the draft or perhaps closer to training camp, but both sides have acted early. The fact that Smith-Njigba has secured such lucrative terms on his second NFL contract is certainly no surprise.
As a rookie, the former first-rounder averaged fewer than 37 receiving yards per game. Over time, though, Seattle’s setup at the receiver spot has made Smith-Njigba more of a focal point. His production saw a notable jump in 2024 (100 receptions, 1,130 yards, six touchdowns) before spiking once more this past season. With the Seahawks having traded away D.K. Metcalf, Smith-Njigba saw his yards per reception figure increase to a career-best 15.1. He also set a new personal mark with 10 touchdowns while leading the NFL in receiving yards.
That production resulted in a first-team All-Pro nod along with a Pro Bowl invitation in addition to OPOY honors. Smith-Njigba remained an important contributor on offense through Seattle’s playoff run and helped the team win Super Bowl LX. Along with left tackle Charles Cross – who inked a four-year extension of his own in January – he will serve as a foundational presence for years to come.
Prior to today’s news, Ja’Marr Chase led the way in terms of AAV at the receiver spot. His 2025 Bengals extension averages $40.25MM per season, while Justin Jefferson‘s Vikings deal contained $88.74MM guaranteed at signing. Exact details on this Smith-Njigba contract are not yet known, but it certainly seems as though he has managed to comfortably surpass Jefferson in terms of locked-compensation. 2027 was already due to include $23.85MM for the Ohio State product; it will now pay out much more than that.
Seahawks general manager John Schneider once again faces the task of maintaining a Super Bowl core in the wake of his team’s championship. Smith-Njigba and Cross are among the offensive stalwarts who will be counted on to remain in the fold for the foreseeable future. The same will presumably be true of cornerback Devon Witherspoon. Seattle’s other 2023 first-rounder is under team control for the next two seasons thanks to his option being exercised, but he is eligible to sign a monster extension of his own at any time.
Attention will now turn to Witherspoon in the Seahawks’ case with respect to remaining financial priorities. Around the league, meanwhile, this Smith-Njigba accord will no doubt be used as a measuring stick for other high-end receiver deals. Puka Nacua is among the top players at the position in line for an extension, and he could look to challenge these contract terms during negotiations with the Rams. The likes of George Pickens (Cowboys) and Zay Flowers (Ravens) could stand to benefit from the continued upward movement of the WR market as well.
The Seahawks lost offensive Klint Kubiak when he took the Raiders’ head coaching job immediately after the Super Bowl. As such, Smith-Njigba will be working with his fourth OC (Brian Fleury) in as many years during the 2026 campaign. Given his durability and continued increases in production, however, he will be expected to thrive under a new play-caller for next season and well beyond.
Hard for a receiver to make a better case to break the bank. Especially when you include a Super Bowl win and a generous amount of cap space.
I was just reading the post from yesterday when they were talking about extending him and Spoon. This is great news now get Spoon in the fold for those same 5 years. Option year plus 4 year extension. Keep up the great work John.
Oooohh-weee! Setting the market high.
Well deserved now I wonder what my boy Drake London gets
Drake is my boy too. If he can stay healthy and have consistent qb play he could have a JSN type year. Dude is a balla
He doesn’t get enough respect man
Unfortunately for a WR, it matters who is throwing the ball too. Ask JJ if it matters in Minesota! London will need consistant QB play if he wants a “JSN type year”. Winning a Super Bowl would also help if he wants a “JSN type” contract.
I agree and no way I’m saying London deserves to be even top 5 paid. I’d like to see him top 11 range though
I agree that he is a great WR that hasn’t been helped by his QBs with injuries and all that. There probably is no reason he shouldn’t ask for and get DK money at least.
That’s fair
London good, but he is not getting that top wr money $40mills. London has been #1 wr since he got on ATL only1 100 catch season rest in 60s and 1 1000yd season. While JSN was #3 yr 1 due to Lockett and DK. Then 2nd yr he had DK but got 100rec and 1000yds, then this year opoy.
London maybe in the Higgins pay range or can wait for Pickens to get overpaid by Jerruh and go from that because he is near Pickens.
Garrett Wilson feels like the logical comp for London. Both number one receivers, both from the same draft, both held back by abysmal quarterback situations.
Sadly I agree bro had Ridder for two years lmao
Amazing what teams are paying to QBs, Edge, LT and WRs. Sucks if you play any other position because the money isn’t there for you.
It’s a stretch to say “sucks to be them” when the top guys at every other position are making millions themselves. The only position that really gets screwed are the RB’s. Literally every single other position tops out in the 20’s at a minimum.
Who gets paid what depends entirely on the situation.
Formerly undervalued positions like DT and OG for example now command top dollar and high draft picks, and the best players at every position get paid significantly.
It’s never as simple as “certain positions get paid while others don’t”.
You’re also ignoring that WRs get paid because there’s more opportunities for them to contribute yet less competition between similar players than at RB for example. Same with edge defenders now that it’s its own position and players get moved around and rotated more. LTs get paid because they’re so important and because they often have no real competition for their starting gig since it’s such a demanding position.
He’s a great player but wow this just seems insane.
I don’t know that he’s on the level of Chase and Jefferson, as great as he is. They’re both generational players.
A good comparison would be the edge market.
Prior to Hunter getting his one year extension (and at one point he too was considered generational, possibly), only the absolute top generational DEs had $40 million per year contracts.
Same with WRs. Even going over $30 million per was reserved for the 1a tier at worst. Now every impressive young WR is about to hit $40 million per year thanks to this contract. I can only imagine how many WRs will hit $30 million per.
Are those other guys really on the level of Chase or Jefferson? I’m not so sure.
Don’t get me wrong. If I were starting a team, I’d go with Jefferson or Chase before him, but what JSN just did is pretty damn generational. He led the NFL in target share. That passing attack ran through him to a crazy degree and he couldn’t have done better with it. He also did that before turning 24. Pretty incredible.
I would take JSN first but I am bias..lol. I do agree though last season was incredible. He definitely did enter the generational talk. His first three year stats are pretty comparable to theirs. All three are great. Next big contract will be Puka, another generational. I do hope he leaves Rams snd NFC west though…again bias.
Puka’s an incredible player, but his health scares me more than the other guys.
See, this is where I disagree.
Chase and Jefferson were on another level than almost any WR in history prior to their extensions. They were in Hall of Fame caliber talk during their rookie years.
Puka has been amazing, as have Amon-Ra St Brown and JSN but I wouldn’t put either of them in that same category with Chase and Jefferson.
I don’t think it’s much of a coincidence that all three have seen their numbers explode without a true #2 WR let alone another 1 like Chase has on his team. I think it’s honestly target share more than anything driving their numbers up to that level. I do think all three are very good if not great but I don’t put them on the same generational level as Chase or Jefferson. There’s no question all are top five right now but Chase and Jefferson are arguably top five all time.
At the same time, not having another high level receiver meant that teams paid a ton of attention to him and he still excelled.
This is true, Oooof, and it is a major boost to his case for being the best WR in the NFL right now.
We’ll just have to see what he does in the upcoming seasons to strengthen that case.
I guess you don’t watch a lot of Seahawks games. Even if what you are saying about target share were true, I don’t know that it is because I don’t have time to do a stats comparison, contracts are not about who is the best all time, and are more about who is the best right now. JSN, is the best WR in the NFL today. That might not be true tomorrow, which is why NFL players want to get paid today. Tua will make more money this year to not play for the Dolphins than Tom Brady ever made in a single season…and its not because Tua is a “better” all time QB.
When you’re talking about $40 million per year aka record breaking money, it absolutely is about where that receiver stacks up compared to the other guys in that conversation.
Chase and Jefferson were no brainers to sign to any deal they wanted. These other guys are not.
JSN is absolutely not the best WR in the NFL today. Maybe if he continues to put up these numbers like Chase and Jefferson did every year prior to their extensions then he can be in that conversation. He’s top five for sure but he is not better than either of those guys when they’re fully healthy.
Tua made that money because Mahomes and others did first, and Tua was never on that level. So actually that goes against your argument. Tua and a few others are the perfect example of why you don’t just pay a guy record breaking money because he plays well in the ideal situation for a few years.
And that’s QB, which is an entirely different animal than WR.
I also love how people go right to “you must not watch the games then” whenever they can’t actually refute a guy’s argument.
JSN was fifth in targets this year behind Chase, St. Brown, McBride, and Puka. He was 4th in receptions, 1st in yards, 2nd in yards per game, and 6th in TDs scored. The Seahawks were ran the ball 49.71% of their plays which is the third most in the NFL. Only Buffalo and Baltimore ran the ball more. The Seahawks were 14-3 and, if you watched the Seahawks play, you would know that with how good the D is, the offense let off in the second half of many games because the outcome was already decided by halftime. The Seahawks had shut down their offense and brought in back ups while Jefferson and Chase were gathering up garbage yards against a prevent defense. You watched the games so i don’t have to tell you, but others reading this might not have seen 17 Seahawks games like we did.
Well said
You’re not making the case you think you are.
Imagine trying to call Chase and Jefferson’s pre extension years “racking up yards in garbage time” and expecting to be taken seriously in a sports discussion.
I never said I watched 17 games but I watched quite a few thanks to streaming services. Keep embarrassing yourself though.
Rams will pay Puka. He will probably be there only young great talent. Stafford should be gone by the time Puka money kicks in and Adams too. If Rams play it right they could have a rookie qb contract and get the weapons around.
I would agree …just a hope since Rams are a tough NFC west rival. It will be interesting what they about Stafford if he does retire. Puka will be good for new qb.
Geez, how many “generational” talents can one generation have?
The emerald city route artist
Good that he cashed in Seahawks need him pleased. The cap goes up every year and the contract probably gets restructured a couple of times.
Right, this is already a slightly smaller percentage of the cap than Chase’s was when signed. And before the last year of this contract, the NFL will get new broadcasting deals that make the cap explode.
Dallas problem with Pickens just got worse.
Jerry waits again.
OSU is a factory for WRs. It’s amazing how many top wideouts the Buckeyes have turned out.
Quite the overpay based on one elite season. He barely cracked the top 10 in yards and just outside top 10 in receptions the year before.
The year before JSN was sharing targets with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, his QB was Geno Smith, and his OC was Ryan Grubb. I think they know what kind of player he is and what he is worth to them. Everybody knows where the ball is going and nobody can stop it.
Time will tell. Still doesn’t change the fact that they reset the WR market based off of one elite season. Would they have done the same thing had he come in just outside the top 5 last season if they didn’t go to the Super Bowl because he was developing?
You can literally say that about Chase and Jefferson, too. Jefferson was sharing targets with Theilen and now Addison and has only had a legit QB for a few of his seasons, while Chase has been sharing targets with literally the best #2 WR in the game by a mile (okay DeVonta is easily a close second now but still) and has had Burrow miss many games and had Higgins miss plenty himself.
And both of them have put up generational numbers pretty much every single fully healthy season.
The Seahawks had the least amount of pass attempts last year and JSN led the league in receving yards. It’s because he is good. If it makes you feel better, another poster already pointed out, that while JSN makes more money than Chase, his percaentage of total cap space is lower than when Chase signed his deal because the cap has gone up. This is what it costs to retain top WRs. I’m sorry if you don’t like how the Seahawks spend their cap money.
Development happens
There is no way Jerry Jones will pay his All Pro WR Pickens $42 mil a year! Jones ought to trade Pickens on draft day and get some first round draft picks!
Yeah this is definitely true.
JSN is great but he just lowered the bar considerably for getting a $40 million contract.
Now St Brown, Puka, and Pickens will all demand the same, and they’ll have a genuine case.
Pickens is gonna demand at least $35 million per year but he’ll have his history of being considered a character issue guy going against him.
JSN absolutely worth it .. shame seahawks never win another championship paying him at this price point
don’t let Terry Bradshaw pronounce his last name
Hefty contract but his improvement each of the last few years makes you think he’ll be worth it. I still don’t have him near the top of the WR pool talent wise but he’s top 5 for sure. I just think the gap between 1 and 2 and everyone else is massive.
This was exactly my point.
Chase and Jefferson are generational. They’re first ballot HOF caliber guys in a way we haven’t seen since Julio and AJ and since Fitzgerald and Andre Johnson before that.